Courage under fire
by geniusInspired
Summary: If you read my friend's ace combat fic from a naval perspective, read mine from a soldiers POV. This is the story of the Ferdelance Armored brigade of the osean army
1. Calm before the storm

**Courage under fire**

**The story of the famous Ferdelance Brigade of the Osean Army**

_"The price of freedom:  
Your every drop of courage,  
Ounce of pain, pint of blood,  
Paid in advance"_

**The calm before the storm**

A colonel looked beyond the window of the Humvee he was aboard to the smoke-filled horizon, lighted by the flashes of a distant battle. They passed by trees, or what's left of them, and soldiers trudging their way to the same direction, and wounded going the other.

The effects of war was something to behold, in majesty or in horror, and the colonel felt sick.

"Colonel, were coming up to brigade CP."  
"Thank you Sergeant."

A colonel, the sergeant called him a colonel. He wasn't supposed to be a colonel. Yesterday he was only a lieutenant colonel, but after receiving the news of the death of this particular brigade's commander his superiors took the first guy they could find.  
Unfortunately they saw him.

They parked beside a dirty M1 main battle tank, and he stepped out. He looked around and saw broken vehicles and broken bodies.

_Damn this war._

It was a two-story house, beautiful if you repaired the bullet holes and blast damages. The family that lived here had already fled before the Belkan war machine, and now those who would stand against it inhabited it. He entered the brigade command post.

A Lt. Colonel of the first Osean tank battalion greeted him and after he returned the salute he was given a quick briefing.

"Sir you must be Lance, our new commander. Im Dan, of the Osean first." They proceeded to a table map and the Lt. and started the briefing.

"Our, division has sustained heavy losses after the fall of Rutherford and has been retreating since. Yesterday right before the attack that killed your predecessor we received an order to hold the line, but the attack was too powerful. They drove deep in to our lines and cut our forces in half. General Talbot is on the other side of this salient."

"What was the exact order?" he asked.  
"They said to keep the line intact until reinforcements arrive."  
"That will be the Yuke corps right?"  
"Among other things Sir, yes. A division has already arrived but if the Belkans attack again I don't thing we can hold them off."

He studied the map. Tonight was Christmas Eve. He should be with his family and opening presents. Everybody was.

"We shall hold the line. My 3 sons would be spending Christmas without their father but if it means spending it with them next year then I'll be glad to do this. You have a son Dan?"

"A daughter, sir. We shall hold the line" he said with an affirming nod.

Then one of the radios crackled to life.

_To be continued…_


	2. The moment of truth

**Courage under fire**

**The story of the famous Ferdelance Brigade of the Osean Army**

"_The price of freedom:_

_Your every drop of courage,_

_Ounce of pain, pint of blood,_

_Paid in advance"_

Moment of truth 

Everybody turned to the radio and listened, hoping to catch a bit of good news.

"Movement! We got movement in the ridgeline! The belkans are making a push! Armored vehicles are going south…"

Well, so much for hearing good news.

Lance went back to the map. According to it there was large gaping hole in there lines, about 5 to 8 km apart, ten at the max. And now the belkans are trying to drive the wedge even further.

"Where is the 4th armored now?"

"We formed a line on the edge of the salient. We have dug-in but we are not sure if we can hold them off. We have sustained too many casualties.

"Take me to the line" he ordered.

Dan led him to four parked M1s, and 2 officers standing in attention.. One saw the pair moving towards them and saluted, then the other followed. After he returned one of them asked him.

"Are you our new commander?"

"Yes" he answered simply.

"Then we are your officers."

The crew introduced themselves; Neil was the commander of the 2nd tank battalion and Mac of the 3rd.

They preferred being called by their nicknames in the heat of battle, for ease of communicating.

They boarded their vehicles and the tanks went to the front line. On the way over he saw the same scene when he first went here aboard the humvee. Dan used the time to explain the situation further.

After the prolonged defense of the city of Rutherford the commander of the Osean 3rd army retreated and were since chased by the Belkan panzer army. They stopped here and were told to establish a defensive line and halt the Belkan advance until reinforcements arrive. But it doesn't look good, the 4th Osean armored brigade had already sustained heavy losses and were exhausted.

Yesterday the Belkan forces crashed against their line and broke through the center. In the confusion the 4th armored got separated and was now on the left side of the salient that the Belkans had created.

He contemplated the situation till they reached the line.

The armored brigade was holding the right flank of the salient, a Yuke Division holding the center and the other various units. They were cut off from their mother unit like many others, divided by land the belkans had occupied.

The 4th Osean armored brigade is composed of 3 tank battalions, a scout element, and an air defense troop. They were organized for the purpose of providing an armored spearhead for the main force behind them. With the succeeding battles they were now reduced to a defensive force, not even that much.

The tanks were placed roughly meters apart and were dug in and camouflaged.

He used the vehicle intercom to broadcast a message to his new command.

"This is Colonel Lance and I'm taking command as of today. I don't know you and you don't know me but we will forget about that for now because the enemy is out there and is planning to attack. Just trust me and we will get through this."

"Sir yes sir!" came the halfhearted replies.

Now they waited.

It wasn't long, because the enemy was right in front of them. The sound of the enemy's engines could be heard and everybody started to get tense.

One by one the long bodies of the Belkan SDKFZ. 234 "Puma" appeared on the defending tanks line of sight.

He waited till they got close then uttered the first word of his new command

"FIRE!"

The HEAT rounds tore apart the recon tracks with devastating effect, especially the ones that took more than one hit.

The second volley further reduced the recon force to two vehicles, and they quickly retreated under the cover of smoke and desperate and inaccurate fire from their 50 mm cannons, which only dented the tough armor of the M1 battle tank even if it hit.

Cheering could be heard through the intercom, but it didn't last long. Multiple booms in the distance and a keen whistle signified one thing. Artillery.

Shells landed all around them, plinking shrapnel against their armor and blasting dirt up like fountains. Through the confines of each of the tanks the crews dreaded the myriad sounds that the 150-mm shells were creating. The shelling steadily increased and tanks started to take hits.

One hit a turret right-on, punching through the weaker top armor and instantly killing the crew. Another one hit an engine compartment and started a fire. The crew could do nothing, not even get out lest be slaughtered under the incessant barrage.

Half his tanks were damaged now, and Lance had to do something. His men were dying. Their cries he could hear through the intercom system.

"Move forward!" He shouted over the deafening racket.

"What?! Are you crazy?! We'll die out there!" Neil replied without the slightest inkling of what the hell his new superior was thinking.

"We're dying right here now MOVE!"

His command tank lurched forward under the steel rain.

"Is he crazy?!" Neil asked again.

"We're crazy enough not to follow him under this shitstorm! Now lets go!" Mac shouted.

The three battalion commanders relayed the insane order to their troops but it wasn't needed. The tank crews' heared the debate through their radios and seeing their courageous-or suicidal- new commander, they were convinced enough.

The M1s fired up their gas turbine engines and dashed out of the kill zones the artillery barrage created. Soon the artillery fire died down, the majority of the shells falling behind them. Now the next question was how far they were moving forward.

The Belkan commander scanned the area with his binoculars. To the west he could see smoke and dust plumes, the effects of suppression fire his recon screen called in after meeting the enemies defense line. He was tasked of keeping the gap they opened open, and one of the things given to him was a full mobile artillery battery, aside from the light mechanized battalion he was commanding now.

He saw another dust cloud, one much closer. He realized that the cloud was close enough that the binocs were not helping him and he looked with his naked eye and saw an ever-nearing wall of dust.

Suddenly the base of the cloud exploded with the sound of thunder. All around him vehicles erupted into massive fireballs and men dove for cover, seeking shelter from the unexpected attack.

He looked at where the fire came from and saw a row of Osean M1s. Before a question could form in his mind the enemy launched another volley and a new set of vehicles exploded. He ran to his own tank, a command Leopard 1, and quickly asked for cover fire.

"They're here! Switch fire to our position now!"

The battery of self-propelled cannons, "Hummels" quickly adjusted their 150 mm to answer the call of their comrade.

The Osean battalions quickly found themselves in a turkey shoot; they found a Belkan force totally by surprise (they were also surprised).

Some of the were beginning to shoot back, and some were doing the smarter of move of running away. Lance spotted one of the Leopard tanks and relayed its position to his gunner.

"Fire!" A HEAT round zoomed away from his tank and buried itself at the enemy tank, the command tank for that matter, seeing the 4 antennas after the shell did its job of reducing it into smoldering mass of metal.

150 mm shells started falling around them again, and deciding not to endure that hell again, kept going forward and chased the fleeing enemy.

They chased the Belkans for a good distance, all the while a dribble of artillery fire falling around them as the battery struggled to keep up with their moving prey. They traded fire on the move, the Osean battalions chasing the belkans westward like a pack of dogs pursuing a mailman's behind.

Some enemy vehicles exploded in front of Lance for no obvious reason. None of his tanks fired any shots. Then the Belkans hesitated, as if not knowing whether to move forward or back. He was puzzled by this but insisted to keep moving forward. They pushed past the burning hulks and swung the turret to look around.

Suddenly his tank stopped. All of his tanks stopped. He swung the turret back and when he got there he looked down the 150 mm barrel of an M1 Main Battle tank.


	3. Line in the sand

**Courage under fire**

**The story of the famous Ferdelance Brigade of the Osean Army**

"_The price of freedom:_

_You're every drop of courage,_

_Ounce of pain, pint of blood,_

_Paid in advance"_

**Line in the sand**

The battlefield developed a tense air around itself as the two forces just stood as still as stone, unflinching before each other. It was unmistakable, the smoking 105 mm barrels and distinctive turrets of the General Dynamics (Land Systems Division) M1 Abrams tank of the Osean Army. Lance looked on with an eyebrow well above the other.

Looking through his periscope he watched as someone in the tank in front of him stuck his head out of the turret, stared for a few moments in amazement, said something through the radio, and climbed out. He did the same.

The colonel walked towards the person in an Osean uniform, and when the lower ranking officer saw his position promptly saluted.

After the formalities Lance proceeded to hearing the officer, or what the officer was trying to say. He kept on stuttering, eating his words, obviously surprised and dumbfounded to meet the brigade commander from the opposite side of the Belkan-made gap. After a while he finally understood what he was talking about. He didn't realize that when he started moving forward that he kept moving, easterly, till he reached the other side of the salient and closed the gap in their lines.

Everybody else poked their heads out of their tanks, the noise of the shelling replaced by their cheers.

Lance chatted with the other officer till a gust of wind signaled the arrival of a helicopter. A UH-60 Black Hawk landed on a clearing and Lance approached when he saw someone waving to him.

"Come with me. I'm taking you to see General Talbot." Came the simple order.

He boarded the utility chopper and lifted off. They approached the field HQ of the Osean 3rd Army headed by General Talbot. The 3rd Army has been holding the Belkan advance near Osea's eastern borders. The base was made of sandbagged structures, foxholes, the works.

They landed near the main HQ building and the chopper officer led him inside.He entered a room only lit by the light coming from the door he entered and some blinking consoles. Suddenly the whole wall in front of him came alive in its true view screen purpose, and its glow silhouetted the form of the General.

"Good job on your first day." The General said, keeping the tone of amazement out of his voice and maintaining professionalism. "The Belkans gave us a hell of a beating. But they made a crucial mistake and so did we. They didn't see it. They didn't exploit the breach soon enough. And we made a mistake of underestimating our forces."

Before he can deny the credit for the compliment, the general continued.

"The Belkans now know that their opportunity has vanished. So we are now expecting them to throw all their forces at us".

As he was saying this the projector shifted from the GASA server-loading screen to the user interface, the ID Lance read as "Southsoldier" and the General entered his password, which took them to the strategic map setting. The global map showed Osea and its allies in blue, the Belka in red and neutrals in green. The angry red color of Belka's rage has already spilled from the northern valley down into Osea's borders. The southernmost tip of the advance is where Lance and General is standing right now.

"The Belkans have been sporadic lately. Their pushes are all over their place. They're not concentrating on a specific point. Intelligence says they are preparing for a large-scale offensive, but they don't know where."

"Estimates of enemy forces in our region are high. We have a pretty good feeling that they will be attacking us soon."

The map showed everything the General said with a bunch of arrows then it suddenly shifted to the 3D grid tactical map complete with blue and red symbols.

"Including you, we have 2 divisions and 2 brigades. The other brigade is Yuktobanian. Right in front of us is a Belkan panzer army of 8 divisions. Now you bought us 2 important things; time and space. You bluffed them to thinking we were counter attacking, which will give us till daybreak tomorrow at the most to prepare. And thanks to you're stunt you reestablished our lines. We now have a solid line to throw up against them."

"We can't actually crack their messages but we've been hearing increased traffic this past few hours. Surveillance has showed they are gearing up to move."

"Go now. We don't have much time. My staff will coordinate with you in the defense preparations. Tell your men to repair their vehicles, entrench themselves and most importantly to rest. We're stopping them dead in their tracks." 

Lance' briefing ended without him saying a word. The image of a sea of red dots against their island of blue specks was burned in his mind when he returned to his men.

They spend the rest of their night preparing for what was to come tomorrow.

* * *

**The day's first** light was no thing of beauty for the Allies today. Their front now consists of entrenched infantry, hulled-down tanks, and prepositioned artillery. It was quiet again, the silence building up the anticipation of both sides.

"This is HQ, please advice that radio silence has been initiated by the Belkans. Anticipate attack on all sectors."

Seconds later the attack came simply enough. All frontline commanders soon reported incoming vehicles.

Lance was in his tank looking as a Marder APC closed in his sights. Taking fire control from his gunner he and his command let loose a volley of shells that decimated the first wave of light vehicles. One Marder took on out of his tanks with its MILAN anti-tank missiles. It reduced its enemy in a metal scrapping explosion before meeting the same fate by the hands of one of Lance's M1s.

The Marder APCs and SDKFZ. "Puma" armored vehicles that comprised the probing force pushed on through the curtain of fire coming from the defenders, heedless of their losses just to inflict a negligible amount of casualties against their foe. Negligible, Lance thought. It was worse than saying acceptable. In war these terms were used all too often. But to him each statistic loss was a human life, and these Belkans are throwing theirs away but for what? A long-standing grudge against Osea that nobody knows anymore how it begun.

A report from the field commanders snagged Lance's drifting consciousness back into the battle.

"This is the 12th Osean mechanized division. We are receiving heavy artillery fire on-"

"--we are under heavy fire from surface to surface missiles. Repeat, this is the Mountain Home infantry division--"

"We have multiple bogeys on radar, vector zero-five-six. Belkan planes are on the air. Scrambling fighters," the silky voice of the tactical coordinator suddenly reported.

Above him 12 F-16s screamed towards the horizon, trailing white thin smoke behind them as they went hunting the enemy only they could see.

The TacCor spoke again. "Possible attack on our flanks. Heads up people." There was something to this that Lance couldn't put his finger on. Normally in a flanking maneuver artillery fire would fall on the defense' center, pinning them down and allowing the attackers to hit their sides. But the field commanders that reported _were on the flanks_.

"Sir enemy forces ahead!" Dan shouted over the intercom. Lance looked through the thermal viewer and saw the glowing-white hulks of those vehicles that were already destroyed, and a new set of cooler figures moving towards him.

"This is the 4th armored brigade. We have approaching Leos, request permission to engage." He used the slang term of the Belkan Leopard class MBTs as he reported to command.

"This is HQ, engage at your own discretion. Happy hunting."

'Roger that!"

"Fire at will!" With that order the advancing Belkan armor went up in flames as Lance' brigade opened up with their 105 mm cannons.

The surviving vehicles stopped and started to trade fire. Then more vehicles joined the fight. It was starting to get harder as the smoke and mangled hulks obscured the battlefield.

"This is the Yuktobanian 31st tank brigade! We are under heavy attack! Request fire support fire on these coordinates." As the Yuke commander stated the numbers it dawned on Lance what the Belkans are trying to do. They were both on the center, and seeing the Belkan's determined attack he realized that they trying to cut the line right in half. Lance also gave his set of numbers and waited.

Like lightning from the heavens the missiles from the Osean MLRS artillery brigade rained down on the Belkan tanks and blasted them into smithereens. Looking from his tank Lance watched as blazing dots flew in the air and crash right in front of him. He watched on, but after a wave he saw another set, one that was coming from another direction.

It passed, and another followed. Suddenly voices from the intercom confirmed what he saw.

"This is the MLRS artillery brigade! We're under fire! We--" an explosion cut off whoever was talking. It was then replaced by the voice of the TacCor.

"Communications with our artillery brigade has been cut off. They have been attacked by counter-battery fire from a Belkan surface-to-surface missile platoon. The Belkans are—wait! 4th armored brigade please--" the rest of the comment was lost to Lance as high explosive and armor piercing missiles exploded all around them. 105 and 120mm shells quickly followed it from a fresh set of Belkan Leopard 1s and 2s advancing right in front of them.

Half of his command was burning now. In front of him the Belkans continued pressing forward. The intercom came alive again, but instead of the female voice earlier it was replaced by General Talbot's, confirming the gravity of the situation.

"All commanders report!"

"This is the Yuktobanian 31st tank brigade! We are under heavy attack!"

This is the 12th Osean mechanized division. We are receiving heavy artillery fire--"

"This is the Mountain Home infantry division, we have sustained heavy casualties--"

"This is the 4th armored brigade! We are getting overrun!" Lance said.

After a tense few seconds the General made his desicion

"All forces retreat! Regroup to rally point Bravo. I repeat, to all forces retreat!"

"Fine by me!" Lance exulted. "4th armored brigade we are pulling back to this coordinates."

All over the line the allied forces disengaged contact and started to withdraw in good order. The enemy attack was simply too powerful.

"HQ to all frontline commanders. Please advice on current situation. Attack choppers heading your way."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Lance shouted


	4. Not a step back

**Courage under fire**

**The story of the famous Ferdelance Brigade of the Osean Army**

"_Great things are done more through_

_Courage than through wisdom"_

**Not a step back**

Missile-laden AH-64 D Longbow Apaches raced to the shifting lines. To whomever they were tasked to annihilate, they shall receive no mercy for it doesn't come on the tips of its 8 Hellfire AT missiles nor its 38 Hydra rockets, not even from the 1200 rounds of armor-piercing bullets it carries.

They approached the confronting forces. The weapons operators primed their arsenals and rested their itchy fingers on the triggers. In the running tank fight they chose their targets.

With a press of a button the Apaches released a barrage of unguided rockets and targeted gunfire from its 30-mm chain gun. It was the last thing a lot of people saw, a magnificent and lethal display of destruction.

Lance and all the allied forces were the lucky ones, being able to appreciate the deadly fireworks show since they were not on the receiving end of the barrage. His intercom came alive with the voice of their savior.

"This is Super-six-one to the 4th armored brigade! We got your backs!"

Everywhere else Apache fire teams provided the ground forces in flight with a curtain of tank-busting firepower.

The attack chopper squadron then let loosed their aptly-named Hellfire missiles, and Lance saw first hand its metal-melting force as the nearest Belkan tanks chasing him evaporated into thick black smoke.

Lance switched back the radio frequency. "This is the 4th armored brigade commander, call sign King Cobra, HQ, next time advice if inbound are hostile or friendly!" He practically shouted.

A fresh salvo of SSMs landed on their position, damaging the withdrawing Osean brigade.

"4th armored brigade, you are under fire from surface-to-surface missiles."

"Thanks for the heads up command!" he said sarcastically.

They continued their retreat, one that was the least bit organized. The 24th mechanized division was being separated to the left. The center forces, the 4th armored and the Yuke 31st tank were being driven back faster than the others, and the Mountain Home infantry were holding their ground but are slowly being overrun.

General Talbot was having a hard time organizing them back, and Lance could extract that much from the frantic exchange happening through the intercom. The Super-six Apache squadron helped a little bit, keeping up their suppression fire, allowing some of them to expedite their retreat.

What concerned him was that of their Yuke ally, the 31st tank brigade on his immediate left, their commanders voice dominating the intercom.

"We are being overrun! We're taking heavy losses! HQ please advise!" Lance could do nothing, concerned more to help a co-tanker in need than from the threat to his left flank.

He felt powerless, unable to do anything, or can he?

* * *

**The General's sweat** dropped on the map. The situation was deteriorating. If he couldn't reorganize his forces they could be facing a hell of a rout. The circumstances are forcing his hand and making his decisions for him.

"Sir, look!" One of his aides interrupted his thinking.

"Elements of the 4th armored are breaking off and heading east."

"What the!" Who said this wasn't Talbot but his second in command, a Colonel Clark.

In the map some of the blue dots labeled 4th B can clearly be seen making a 90-degree turn and heading to the west. The Colonel snatched the STU from the communications officer.

"4th armored brigade, what are you doing!"

What followed the brigade commander's response was a heated exchange before the enigmatic field officer cut the communication line.

"Put him back through!"

"We cant sir, he's ignoring us." The comm. officer said.

He turned to the General. "Sir he is refusing a direct Order! I want him relieved of command and a court martial--" The General silenced him with his hand. He studied the map again, and took the STU from the comm. officer.

* * *

**Dmitri fired another** shot. His brigade, the Yuktobanian 31st tank was racing backwards with a Belkan tank force hot on their tail. Even on the move both sides' shots were deadly accurate because of their mutual fire-on-the-move capability. Also both were in even terms with the Yuktobanian T-80 MBT and the Leos of the Belkans, but in war the day always belongs to the aggressor.

Dmitri trained his something-mm cannons on a Leopard 2. He was just about to press the trigger when his target suddenly exploded, sending the turret sky high under a pillar of fire.

He was stunned, and who wouldn't be, after seeing Osean M1s block his line of sight and engage the very enemy he was running from. His intercom came to life.

"This is the Osean 4th armored brigade to the Yuktobanian 31st tank brigade, we are coming to your rescue!"

With a laugh of disbelief he replied. "The hell an Osean upstages a Yuktobanian in battle!" He switched to his command's frequency. "Comrades! We will not be beaten by Belkans or Oseans! Engage them!" They stopped, reversed their gears and surged forward, cannons blazing.

* * *

**Lance kept moving** forward though, leaving his 2nd battalion in battle with their Yuke ally against the Belkans. He kept the 1st with him, having left the 3rd in their previous position. He still fumed from that Colonel he spoke with in HQ, surely a stuck-up order-barking moron who never seen the battlefield.

He continued on, pushing left in the attempt to make contact with the 24th. As far as he knows they have been separated, and that means a lot of Belkans between them.

"Sir are you sure this is wise? I mean, were not exactly following what Colonel Clark ordered us." Dan asked him.

"To hell with him and HQ! They don't know what's happening out here."

His gunner spotted a thermal silhouette in the distance, and they stopped to check. It was a Belkan Leopard tank all right, and he was about to fire the trigger when more showed up.

"Ok, choose your targets and fire on my mark." Lance told his men.

"Negative on that King Cobra, we'll handle this." A voice from the radio said.

Before he could ask who dared to question his order a dozen missiles sliced through the air and turned the enemy formation into a fiery scrap yard with an explosion rivaling that of an erupting volcano.

"This is Super-six-one to King Cobra. We'll blast you a path through. General Talbot sends you the best of luck."

With a smile he ordered his men forward under the almighty protection of the Apache squadron.

* * *

**Mac sent another** SABOT round the enemies' way and watched its effect on the Belkan Leo. He was rather enjoying it already, the repetitive action become like a game of shoot-that-Belkan. He was about to repeat the process again on an armored vehicle until his radio frequencies opened.

"Allied units in sector B-3, hold your fire. This is the Mountain Home infantry division; we are falling back to your position under the orders of General Talbot. Request assistance."

"Good old General Talbot!" He said, "Mountain Home, this is the 3rd tank battalion of the 4th armored brigade, call sign Black Mamba, we'll cover you."

* * *

**Cut off, the** Osean commander of the 24th mechanized division valiantly fights on, matching his enemy's determination to destroy him with the determination to survive.

The scene that was about to happen has been already executed many times today, yet it never fails to inject a sense of heroicness to the observer.

The division commander watched as the tanks he was about to destroy himself exploded. One of his men told him the explanation. "Sir look! To your right!"

A line of Osean M1s appeared and with a grand entrance blew away the audience with a well-aimed salvo. Above them AH-64D Longbows literally plowed the ground with a combination of chain gunfire and Hydra rockets.

"Osean 24th mechanized division, this is King Cobra. Disengage enemy contact and proceed to sector A-2. We'll keep the road open for you."

But just as the first vehicles were starting to move a shoulder-fired Sam lanced from nowhere and hit one of the attack choppers.

"Super-six-two is down! Repeat, Super-six-two is down!" Another missile, and another downed bird.

"Super-six-one, get out of here! We can handle it from here." Lance said.

"We'll hunt those bastards--"

"Negative Super-six-one, we have inbound bogeys, confirmed fighters heading your way." HQ said, cutting the airman's remark.

"Roger command. Super-six bugging out."

* * *

**The skies above** them were replaced by the contrails coming from Belkan SU-27s, leveling the aerial balance of power.

Lance felt as if he was a shepherd, guiding his sheep, the 24th mech, back to their pens.

Something caught his attention, two puffs of smoke high in the air. A few seconds later simultaneous detonations from a hundred bomblets destroyed the leading vehicles.

"This is HQ, we have ground attack planes inbound, two squadrons of Tornados heading your way."

How could they be killing them at such a long-range? Lance got it on the second set of bursts and bomblet detonations. Stand Off Dispensers.

They menacingly approached, not for the sake of terrorizing the allies but because they were just really slow.

From his tank Lance saw a pair headed their way, and wondered how many of his sheep will remain standing...


End file.
